"Glee" is known as a fluffy, bubbly high school musical, but that has not stopped the show from tackling a few hard issues, like teen pregnancy, the financial crisis or gay identities.
The trend repeated on Thursday, when the show depicted a school shooting in the light of recent events. McKinley High, the fictional Ohio high school in which the show takes place, is the setting of some worrying gunfire that has the faculty and students hiding for fear of a shooting.
The episode was powerful and emotive, and it focused on the student's reactions to show the episode's real point: when we care about people, we need to tell them because we never know when it may be too late.
But besides the good intentions creator Ryan Murphy may have had, the episode opened up very recent wounds in Newtown tragedy parents, who felt the Sandy Hook incident was too close to be used as a plot point in a TV show.
Andrew Paley of Newtown said that he wished the team behind "Glee" should have warned the residents of the town of what was coming on the show. "I think it's terrible that the writers didn't think to contact someone in Newtown to let us know this was coming. A lot of people watch that show. They shouldn't be upset by it."
Fellow Newtown resident Tricia Muzzio said that the episode was inconsiderate. "It was so realistic that I couldn't believe it."
The Newtown Action Alliance caught the episode before it aired and posted a warning on its Facebook group. "I would suggest if you do watch this TV show to either not watch it tonight or watch with caution," it read.
There have been no statements from FOX, though an anonymous source told the New York Daily News that the episode had been planned since before the Newtown tragedy.
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